The healthiest economies are those with the most economic freedom. Unemployment is low in those places -- 3 percent in Hong Kong, 2 percent in Singapore, 5 percent in Australia.

Alas, the United States places ninth, behind Canada, and those countries with the least economic freedom have few real jobs and no prosperity. (tinyurl.com/2x5met)

Unfortunately, most politicians still don't understand -- or have no incentive to understand -- that economic freedom, and therefore less government, creates prosperity. Well, maybe that's changing. This year is first I've heard so many presidential candidates talk about the private sector. Indeed, one candidate, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, told me he created "not one single job. ... Government does not create jobs."

On my Fox Business show last week, my guests debated whether government creates or impedes economic activity:

"Government can spend and create jobs," said David Callahan, cofounder of Demos. "If government steps up and provides stimulus money to hire people, what we get is more people spending money in this economy, more hiring, and we get that virtuous cycle going."

Yaron Brook, president of the Ayn Rand Institute, replied:

"It is ridiculous to assume you can tax the people that are working and give the money (to people) who are not working and somehow this creates economy activity. You are destroying as much by taking from those who are working and creating."

For more on government's destructive mindset, read the rest of my column here.